U.S. patent number 7,417,306 [Application Number 10/952,009] was granted by the patent office on 2008-08-26 for apparatuses and methods for forming electronic assemblies.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Alien Technology Corporation. Invention is credited to Jeffrey Jay Jacobsen, Roger Green Stewart.
United States Patent |
7,417,306 |
Jacobsen , et al. |
August 26, 2008 |
Apparatuses and methods for forming electronic assemblies
Abstract
Apparatuses and methods for forming microelectronic assemblies
are claimed. One embodiment of the invention includes a contact
smart card wherein fluidic self assembly is used to build the
microelectronic structures on the microelectronic assembly such
that a contact smart data is transmitted unidirectionally. A
contact smart card is inserted directly into a device that
transfers data to a microelectronic assembly coupled to the smart
card. Another embodiment of the invention relates to a contactless
smart card in which fluidic self assembly is also used here to
build the microelectronic assembly. Data is transmitted to an
antenna that is embedded in the contactless card in which a
plurality of blocks were deposited thereon.
Inventors: |
Jacobsen; Jeffrey Jay
(Hollister, CA), Stewart; Roger Green (Morgan Hill, CA) |
Assignee: |
Alien Technology Corporation
(Morgan Hill, CA)
|
Family
ID: |
34218328 |
Appl.
No.: |
10/952,009 |
Filed: |
September 27, 2004 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
|
|
09932515 |
Aug 17, 2001 |
6863219 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
257/679;
257/E23.064 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06K
19/077 (20130101); G06K 19/07703 (20130101); H01L
2224/95085 (20130101); H01L 2924/01079 (20130101); H01L
2924/13091 (20130101); H01L 2924/12041 (20130101); H01L
2924/15153 (20130101); H01L 2924/1461 (20130101); H01L
2924/12044 (20130101); H01L 2924/1461 (20130101); H01L
2924/00 (20130101); H01L 2924/12044 (20130101); H01L
2924/00 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H01L
23/02 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;257/679 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Zarneke; David A
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Blakely, Sokoloff, Taylor &
Zafman LLP
Parent Case Text
RELATED APPLICATIONS
This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/932,515, now U.S.
Pat. No. 6,863,219, filed on Aug. 17, 2001.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A smart card assembly comprising: two flexible layers that
include a top layer and a bottom layer laminated together, wherein
at least one of the top layer and the bottom layer is a flexible
web; an antenna formed on the bottom layer; a smart card chip
assembly embedded in the top layer; and a display embedded in the
top and bottom layer.
2. The smart card assembly of claim 1 wherein the top layer
includes a receptor region formed to receive the smart card chip by
a fluidic-self-assembly (FSA) process.
3. The smart card assembly of claim 1 wherein smart card assembly
communicates in a contactless manner to a base unit or a
reader.
4. The smart card assembly of claim 1 wherein smart card assembly
is flexible.
5. A smart card assembly comprising: two flexible layers that
include a top layer and a bottom layer laminated together, wherein
at least one of the top layer and the bottom layer is obtained from
a flexible web; a conductive trace formed on the bottom layer; a
smart card chip assembly embedded in the top layer of the assembly;
and a display embedded in the top and bottom layer.
6. The smart card assembly of claim 5 wherein the smart card chip
is embedded in the top layer and the bottom layer of the
assembly.
7. The smart card assembly of claim 5 wherein the top layer
includes a receptor region formed to receive the smart card chip by
a fluidic-self-assembly (FSA) process.
8. The smart card assembly of claim 5 wherein the conductive trace
is an antenna.
9. The smart card assembly of claim 5 wherein the conductive trace
is an electrical element that is able to send or receive
signals.
10. The smart card assembly of claim 5 wherein smart card assembly
communicates in a contactless manner to a base unit or a
reader.
11. The smart card assembly of claim 5 wherein smart card assembly
is flexible.
12. An assembly comprising: two flexible layers that include a top
layer and a bottom layer coupled together, wherein at least one of
the top layer and the bottom layer is a flexible web; the bottom
layer including a plurality of cavities; an antenna formed on the
bottom layer corresponding to each one of the plurality of
cavities; an integrated circuit chip assembly coupled to the top
layer and disposed in one of the plurality of cavities so that the
integrated circuit chip assembly is embedded in the top and bottom
layer, wherein the integrated circuit chip assembly and antenna
combination of the assembly can communicate in a contactless manner
to a base unit; and a display embedded in the top and bottom
layer.
13. The assembly of claim 12 wherein the each of the flexible
layers can be made from a material that includes at least one of
polyether sulfone (PES), polyester terephthalate, polycarbonate,
polybutylene terephthalate, polyphenylene sulfide (PPS),
polypropylene, polyester, aramid, polyamide-imide(PAI), polyimide,
aromatic polyimides, polyetherimide, metallic materials,
acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, polyvinyl chloride, and
polypropylene sulfate (PPS).
14. The assembly of claim 12 wherein the top layer is the flexible
web.
15. The assembly of claim 12 wherein the bottom layer is the
flexible web.
16. The assembly of claim 12 wherein a conductive bonding agent
such as solder paste or a conductive resin formed of metallic
particles is used in the assembly.
17. The assembly of claim 16 wherein the bonding agent is adapted
to be disposed by at least one of screen printing, syringe
dispensing, and jetting.
18. A smart card assembly comprising: two flexible layers that
include a top layer and a bottom layer laminated together, wherein
at least one of the top layer and the bottom layer is obtained from
a flexible web; an antenna formed on the bottom layer; a smart card
chip embedded in the top layer; and a display bedded in the to and
bottom layer.
19. The smart card assembly of claim 18 wherein the top layer
includes a receptor region formed to receive the smart card chip by
a fluidic-self-assembly (FSA) process.
20. The smart card assembly of claim 18 wherein smart card assembly
communicates in a contactless manner to a base unit or a
reader.
21. A smart card assembly comprising: two flexible layers that
include a top layer and a bottom layer laminated together, wherein
at least one of the top layer and the bottom layer is obtained from
a flexible web; a conductive trace formed on the bottom layer; a
smart card chip assembly embedded in the top layer; and a display
embedded in the top layer and bottom layer.
22. The smart card assembly of claim 21 wherein the smart card chip
is embedded in the top layer and the bottom layer of the
assembly.
23. The smart card assembly of claim 21 wherein the conductive
trace is an antenna.
24. The smart card assembly of claim 21 wherein the conductive
trace is an electrical element that is able to send or receive
signals.
25. The smart card assembly of claim 21 wherein smart card assembly
communicates in a contactless manner to a base unit or a
reader.
26. An assembly comprising: two flexible layers that include a top
layer and a bottom layer coupled together, wherein at least one of
the top layer and the bottom layer is obtained from a flexible web;
the bottom layer including a plurality of cavities; an antenna
formed on the bottom layer corresponding to each one of the
plurality of cavities; an integrated circuit chip assembly coupled
to the top layer and disposed in one of the plurality of cavities
so that the integrated circuit chip assembly is embedded in the to
and bottom layer, wherein the integrated circuit chip assembly and
antenna combination of the assembly can communicate in a
contactless manner to a base unit; and a display embedded in the to
and bottom layer.
27. The assembly of claim 26 wherein a conductive bonding agent
such as solder paste or a conductive resin formed of metallic
particles is used in the assembly.
28. The assembly of claim 27 wherein the bonding agent is adapted
to be disposed by at least one of screen printing, syringe
dispensing, and jetting.
29. The assembly of claim 26 wherein the each of the flexible
layers can be made from a material that includes at least one of
polyether sulfone (PES), polyester terephthalate, polycarbonate,
polybutylene terephthalate, polyphenylene sulfide (PPS),
polypropylene, polyester, aramid, polyamide-imide(PAI), polyimide,
aromatic polyimides, polyetherimide, metallic materials,
acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, polyvinyl chloride, and
polypropylene sulfate (PPS).
30. The assembly of claim 26 wherein the top layer is the flexible
web.
31. The assembly of claim 26 wherein the bottom layer is the
flexible web.
32. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the display shows data, the
data being at least one of bank account information, access
privilege, security information, and account balance.
33. The assembly of claim 5 wherein the display shows data, the
data being at least one of bank account information, access
privilege, security information, and account balance.
34. The assembly of claim 12 wherein the display shows data, the
data being at least one of bank account information, access
privilege, security information, and account balance.
35. The assembly of claim 18 wherein the display shows data, the
data being at least one of bank account information, access
privilege, security information, and account balance.
36. The assembly of claim 21 wherein the display shows data, the
data being at least one of bank account information, access
privilege, security information, and account balance.
37. The assembly of claim 26 wherein the display shows data, the
data being at least one of bank account information, access
privilege, security information, and account balance.
38. A smart card assembly comprising: a first layer and a second
layer laminated together; an antenna; a smart card chip embedded in
the first layer and the antenna is formed on the second layer; and
a display embedded in the first and second layer, wherein the smart
card assembly communicates in a contactless manner to a reader.
39. The assembly of claim 38 wherein the display shows data, the
data being at least one of bank account information, access
privilege, security information, and account balance.
40. The assembly of claim 38 wherein the display further comprises
at least one of LCDs, LEDs, OLEDs, electroluminescent materials,
up/down converting phosphorous material, and electrophoretic
materials.
41. The assembly of claim 40 wherein the display further comprises
at least a substrate and a backplane, wherein the backplane forms
an electrical interconnection of the display.
42. The smart card assembly of claim 5 wherein the smart card chip
and display are coplanar.
43. The smart card assembly of claim 21 wherein the smart card chip
and display are coplanar.
44. The smart card assembly of claim 38 wherein the smart card chip
and display are coplanar.
Description
BACKGROUND
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a microelectronic assembly such
as a smart card that includes an integrated circuit component. More
particularly, the present invention relates to apparatuses and
methods for forming displays coupled to a flexible card in which
the display is configurable and alterable based upon data that is
received from a signal that contains at least a single stream of
serial data.
2. Description of Related Art
Microelectronic assemblies typically include integrated circuit
components attached to substrates. Electrical interconnections are
formed that allow communication between the integrated circuit
component and the substrate for sending and receiving signals for
processing. One type of a microelectronic assembly is a "smart
card" assembly.
"Smart card" assemblies are credit card sized assemblies that
include an integrated circuit component attached to a substrate.
The integrated circuit component may contain information, such as
access privileges, account balances, security information, or other
like information. Smart card assemblies typically include a
plurality of electrical contacts on the surface of the smart card
that permit electrical access to information stored in the
integrated circuit component for reading or writing such
information. A contact smart card has a face that has a cavity for
receiving electrical components such as an integrated circuit
connected to electrical contacts. The electrical contacts are
exposed at the surface of the smart card.
A contactless "smart card" has a substrate that has a face
receiving electrical components such as an integrated circuit, an
antenna and a metallic lead connected to the antenna. Contactless
smart cards allow utilization of the card without having to make
physical contact with a mechanical reader head, thereby making the
contactless cards faster to use and their functionality more
transparent to the user. An antenna is typically disposed within
the card to receive a signal transmitted from a base unit and to
transmit a signal back to the base unit. In a contactless card, the
integrated circuit component is typically embedded in the substrate
and is not attached to metal contacts on the surface of the card.
In this manner, the position of the integrated circuit component is
not based upon a need to be attached to metal contacts exposed at
the surface of the card.
A dual interface smart card is a smart card that combines features
from both the contact smart card and the contactless smart card.
Dual interface smart cards include contact pads and contactless
capabilities. The substrate used for contact smart cards,
contactless smart cards generally comprise multiple layers that are
laminated together. For example, the substrate may have three
flexible layers with two protective outer layers. The flexible
layers may be comprised of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), acrylonitrile
butadiene styrene (ABS), polycarbonate (PC), polypropylene sulfate
(PPS), or polyester (PET).
Displays form a portion of the smart card. Display panels may be
comprised of active matrix or passive matrix panels. Active matrix
panels and passive matrix panels may be either transmissive or
reflective. Transmissive displays include polysilicon thin-film
transistor (TFT) displays, and high-resolution polysilicon
displays. Reflective displays typically comprise single crystal
silicon integrated circuit substrates that have reflective
pixels.
Liquid crystals, electroluminescent (EL) materials, organic light
emitting diodes (OLEDs), up and downconverting phosphor (U/DCP),
electrophoretic (EP) materials, or light emitting diodes (LEDs) may
be used in fabricating flat-panel display panels. Each of these is
known in the art and is discussed briefly below.
Liquid crystal displays (LCDs) can have an active matrix backplane
in which thin-film transistors are co-located with LCD pixels.
Flat-panel displays employing LCDs generally include five different
components or layers: a White or sequential Red, Green, Blue light
source, a first polarizing filter, that is mounted on one side of a
circuit panel on which the TFTs are arrayed to form pixels, a
filter plate containing at least three primary colors arranged into
pixels, and a second polarizing filter. A volume between the
circuit panel and the filter plate is filled with a liquid crystal
material. This material will rotate the polarized light when an
electric field is applied between the circuit panel and a
transparent ground electrode affixed to the filter plate or a cover
glass. Thus, when a particular pixel of the display is turned on,
the liquid crystal material rotates polarized light being
transmitted through the material so that it will pass through the
second polarizing filter. Some liquid crystal materials, however,
require no polarizers. LCDs may also have a passive matrix
backplane which is usually two planes of strip electrodes which
sandwich the liquid crystal material. However, passive matrices
generally provide a lower quality display compared to active
matrices. U/DCP and EP displays are formed in a similar fashion
except the active medium is different (e.g., upconverting gas,
downconverting gas, electrophoretic materials).
EL displays have one or more pixels that are energized by an
alternating current (AC) that must be provided to each pixel by row
and column interconnects. EL displays generally provide a low
brightness output because passive circuitry for exciting pixel
phosphors typically operates at a pixel excitation frequency that
is low relative to the luminance decay time of the phosphor
material. However, an active matrix reduces the interconnect
capacitance allowing the use of high frequency AC in order to
obtain more efficient electroluminescence in the pixel phosphor.
This results in increased brightness in the display.
LED displays are also used in flat-panel displays. LEDs emit light
when energized. OLEDs operate like the LEDs except OLEDs use
organic material in the formation of the diode.
Regardless of the type of active medium used, displays are
generally comprised of at least a substrate and a backplane. A
backplane forms an electrical interconnection of the display and
comprises electrodes, capacitors, and transistors.
FIG. 1A illustrates a rigid device in which the active matrix
display backplane 10 is coupled to a rigid substrate 12. Typically,
the active matrix display backplane is also rigid. FIG. 1B shows
another rigid display. There, the active matrix display backplane
10 is coupled to a rigid substrate 12 (e.g., glass). Also shown is
a plurality of blocks 14. These blocks may be fabricated separately
and then deposited into holes on substrate 12 by a process known as
fluidic self assembly; an example of this process is described in
U.S. Pat. No. 5,545,291, issued to Stephen J. Smith, et al. These
blocks may each contain driver circuitry (e.g., MOSFET and
capacitor) for driving a pixel electrode. The active matrix
backplane includes transparent pixel electrodes and row/column
interconnects (not shown) to electrically interconnect the blocks
14. The plurality of blocks 14 is coupled to the active matrix
display backplane 10 and the rigid substrate 12. FIG. 1C shows a
reflective display 16 coupled to a rigid substrate 12. FIG. 1D
shows a reflective display 16 coupled to a rigid substrate 12. A
plurality of blocks 14 is coupled to the reflective display 16 and
to the rigid substrate 12.
Placing elements, such as pixel drivers, on a rigid substrate is
known. Prior techniques can be generally divided into two types:
deterministic methods or random methods. Deterministic methods,
such as pick and place, use a human or robot arm to pick each
element and place it into its corresponding location in a different
substrate. Pick and place methods generally place devices one at a
time and are generally not applicable to very small or numerous
elements such as those needed for large arrays, such as an active
matrix liquid crystal display.
Random placement techniques are more effective and result in high
yields if the elements to be placed have the right shape. U.S. Pat.
No. 5,545,291 describes a method that uses random placement. In
this method, microstructures are assembled onto a different
substrate through fluid transport. This is sometimes referred to as
fluidic self-assembly. Using this technique, various blocks, each
containing a functional component, may be fabricated on one
substrate and then separated from that substrate and assembled onto
a separate rigid substrate through the fluidic self assembly
process.
As noted above, FIGS. 1B and 1D illustrate a display substrate 12
with blocks 14 formed in the rigid substrate 12. These blocks 14
may be deposited through an FSA process. In the FSA process, a
slurry containing the blocks 14 is deposited over the rigid
substrate 12 and the blocks 14 rest in corresponding openings in
the substrate 12.
FIG. 2 shows a block 14 and a circuit element (not shown) on the
top surface 18 of block 14. Generally, blocks have a trapezoidal
cross-section where the top of the block is wider than the bottom
of the block.
FIG. 3 shows block 14 in a recessed region of the rigid substrate
12. Between the block and the rigid substrate is an eutetic layer
13. The block has a top surface 18.
FIG. 4 shows a planar side view of a rigid substrate coupled to a
rigid display backplane with a plurality of blocks 14 between the
display backplane 30 and substrate 12. The plurality of blocks 14
are functionally part of the display backplane 30 and are deposited
onto receptor regions of the substrate 12. Each block 14 drives at
least one transparent pixel electrode. The pixel is fabricated over
a transistor which is fabricated in the block.
FIG. 5 shows a portion of an array in an active matrix display
backplane. The control line rows 31 and 32 in this device are
coupled to gate electrodes along a row and the control line columns
34 and 35 are coupled to data drivers which supply pixel voltages
which are applied to the pixel electrodes. A column line 34 is
connected to a source electrode of field effect transistor (FET)
36. Another column line 35 is coupled to a source electrode of FET
37. A row line 32 is coupled to the gates of both FETs 36 and 37.
The drain of FET 36 is coupled through capacitor 38 to a
transparent pixel electrode along the row 32 formed by FETs 36 and
37, and the drain of FET 37 is coupled through a capacitor to
another pixel electrode along the row. In one typical example, the
backplane may be formed by depositing blocks, using an FSA
technique, into a rigid substrate (e.g., glass); each block
contains a FET and a capacitor and is interconnected to other
blocks by column and row conductors that are deposited onto the
rigid substrate; and, the capacitor is coupled to a pixel electrode
by another conductor that is deposited onto the rigid substrate.
The active medium (e.g., a liquid crystal) is deposited at least on
the pixel electrodes which will optically change the active
medium's properties in response to the combined voltages or
currents produced by the pixel electrodes. The active medium at a
given pixel electrode 42 will appear as a square or dot in the
overall checkerboard type matrix of the display. The actual size of
the FETs and the pixel electrodes 42 are not now drawn to scale,
but are shown schematically for the purposes of illustration. The
interconnect between the rows and columns is comprised of flexible
and conductive material. For example, the interconnect could be
made of conductive polymers, metals (e.g., aluminum, copper,
silver, gold, etc.), metal particles, teflon materials with metal
or conductive oxides.
There are disadvantages inherent to the related art. Typically,
smart cards are assembled using a deterministic method of placing
microelectronic structures onto the substrate. This process is time
consuming and laborious. Additionally, smart cards are typically
manufactured using a batch process which is not efficient.
SUMMARY
An electronic assembly such as a contact smart card and a method
for making the contact smart card is disclosed in which a single
input/output (I/O) connected to a display is used. This allows a
serial Nth bit stream to be received such that the single I/O
minimizes the chances that a security breach that may occur to a
smart card. Additionally, blocks having integrated circuits are
placed onto a substrate for forming a contact, contactless, or dual
smart card which provides a distributed intelligence.
While an array of components (e.g., display components) for an
assembly are described as examples of the invention, an array of
other assemblies such as x-ray detectors, radar detectors,
micro-electro-mechanical structural elements (MEMS) or, generally,
an assembly of sensors or actuators or an assembly of circuit
elements also may be produced using the claimed invention. Thus,
for example, flexible antennas, other sensors, detectors, or an
array of circuit elements may be fabricated using one of the
embodiments of the inventions. Other aspects and methods of the
present invention as well as apparatuses formed using these methods
are described further below in conjunction with the following
figures.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention is illustrated by way of example. The
invention is not limited to the figures of the accompanying
drawings in which like references indicate similar elements.
FIG. 1A shows a planar side view of an active matrix display
backplane coupled to a rigid substrate of the prior art.
FIG. 1B shows a planar side view of an active matrix display
backplane coupled to a rigid substrate wherein a plurality of
blocks are part of the active matrix display of the prior art.
FIG. 1C shows a planar side view of a reflective display backplane
coupled to a rigid substrate of the prior art.
FIG. 1D shows a planar side view of a reflective display backplane
coupled to a rigid substrate wherein a plurality of blocks are
coupled to the reflective display and to the rigid substrate of the
prior art.
FIG. 2 shows a top perspective view of a circuit element block of
the prior art.
FIG. 3 shows a planar side view of blocks in recessed regions of
the rigid substrate and a metalization surface on the blocks of the
prior art.
FIG. 4 shows a planar side view of a rigid substrate coupled to a
rigid display backplane with a plurality of blocks between the
display backplane and substrate of the prior art.
FIG. 5 schematically represents a portion of an array of an active
matrix backplane of the prior art.
FIG. 6A shows a planar side view of a flexible layer in accordance
with one embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 6B shows a planar side view of a flexible layer wherein
recessed regions are created in the flexible layer in accordance
with one embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 6C shows a planar side view of a flexible layer with a
receiver coupled thereto in accordance with one embodiment of the
invention.
FIG. 6D shows the devices in FIG. 6C in which blocks are placed
onto the flexible layer in accordance with one embodiment of the
invention.
FIG. 6E shows a flexible layer before it is coupled to the device
shown in FIG. 6D.
FIG. 7 illustrates a top view of a substrate having blocks coupled
to a display and to an input/output lead, a ground lead, and a
power lead.
FIG. 8A illustrates a power, ground, and I/O leads coupled to a
smart card chip and to a display.
FIG. 8B illustrates a power, ground, and I/O leads coupled to a
smart card chip and to a display.
FIG. 9 illustrates the top and bottom layers to a contact smart
card in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 10 illustrates a display coupled to a power, ground, and a
single I/O lead in accordance with one embodiment of the
invention.
FIG. 11 illustrates a planar side view of a smart card with two
layers laminated together in accordance with one embodiment of the
invention.
FIG. 12A-FIG. 12B illustrate a flow diagram for forming a contact
smart card in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.
FIGS. 13A-13B illustrate a flow diagram for forming a contactless
smart card in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.
FIGS. 14A-14B illustrate a flow diagram for forming a dual smart
card in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
One embodiment of the invention relates to a contact smart card
having a single input/output that is inserted directly into a
device and data is transferred through the single input/output of
the contact smart card.
Additionally, blocks having integrated circuits are placed onto a
substrate for forming a contact, contactless, or dual smart card
which provides a distributed intelligence.
By fabricating a flexible smart card using fluidic self assembly
(FSA) described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,545,291, the cost of producing
the smart card is reduced. The smart card has a smart card chip
that contacts the display. The smart card also has a molded display
cavity with a power, ground, single input/output interconnect
formed in the backside of the display. This device may then receive
signals and update data that is displayed.
The backplane of the display may be comprised of a plurality of
blocks in which each block has a circuit element thereon. The
blocks are contained in a slurry that is deposited onto the
flexible layer. Although blocks may be comprised of a single
crystal silicon or other like material that makes the block rigid,
the flexible layer may still be flexible because the size of these
blocks (50.times.100 microns or 100.times.100 microns) is so small
in comparison to the flexible layer. The flexible layer forms part
of a display backplane. Flexible displays may be either an active
matrix or a passive matrix displays.
In the following description, numerous specific details such as
specific materials, processing parameters, processing steps, etc.,
are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the
invention. One skilled in the art will recognize that these details
need not be specifically adhered in order to practice the claimed
invention. In other instances, well known processing steps,
materials, etc. are not set forth in order not to obscure the
invention.
FIGS. 6A-6E illustrate the assembly of a contact smart card in
accordance with one embodiment of the invention. FIG. 6A
illustrates substrate 50 that is used in this process. The
substrate may be either flexible or rigid. A rigid substrate may
comprise glass, metal borosilicate glass, plastic, or silicon soda
lime glass, or quartz. A flexible substrate may comprise flexible
substrates or layers may include polyether sulfone (PES), polyester
terephthalate, polycarbonate, polybutylene terephthalate,
polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), polypropylene, polyester, aramid,
polyamide-imide (PAI), polyimide, aromatic polyimides,
polyetherimide, metallic materials, acrylonitrile butadiene
styrene, polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene sulfate (PPS) or other
suitable material.
FIG. 6B illustrates substrate 50 with different sized recessed
regions for receiving objects that have the electrical circuitry
for the assemblies. These recessed regions may be created by a
variety of methods such as using a template or roller that have a
protruding structure for creating recessed regions in the
substrate. Heat may be transferred to the substrate before and/or
during the time in which a template or roller are used to create
the recessed regions. FIG. 6C illustrates a random placement
technique used such as FSA to place driver blocks 59 into recessed
regions. Driver blocks constitute electrical interface to the
display (e.g., smart switches). FIG. 6D illustrates blocks 14 with
integrated circuits thereon placed into recessed regions of the
substrate 50 using FSA. It will be appreciated that other
techniques may be used to transfer blocks (e.g., display blocks and
driver blocks) such as through template transfer. The display
blocks are coupled to a metallic lead with an epoxy other suitable
adhesive used to ensure that blocks are fixed in their location.
Display blocks that have the integrated circuit thereon also may
have bond pad. A wire lead may be formed between a bond pad and at
least one display block. A bonding agent may be dispensed over the
display blocks. The bonding agent is a conductive material such as
solder paste or a conductive resin formed of metallic particles
dispensed in a polymeric matrix. The bonding agent is disposed by
screen printing, syringe dispensing, jetting, or the like. FIG. 6E
illustrates a flexible layer 52 before it is coupled to the device
in FIG. 6D.
FIG. 7 illustrates the top view of a substrate that has blocks
deposited thereon having an integrated circuit thereon with power,
ground, and data input/output leads coupled to a bank chip that
transmits information such as bank account information. In one
embodiment, a display interface may be manufactured with four leads
or less for the transmission of data on, for example, on a smart
card. A variety of data may be transmitted on the same lead such as
instruction data, display data, clock, and orientation data. In
another embodiment, three or more functional data such as data
which is described above, are transmitted on the same lead.
FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate the power, ground, and I/O leads coupled
to a smart card chip and a display. The power, ground, I/O are
connected to the smart card chip and to the display. The single I/O
is used to transfer data from the smart card to a card reader. By
using a single I/O, techniques of the invention offer improvements
over conventional smart cards because a single I/O reduces the
chances that an unscrupulous individual may breach the security of
the data contained in the smart card.
FIG. 9 illustrates a contact smart card in which the top and bottom
layers of the smart card are shown. The top layer has a face
portion with a large receptor region for the display. In this
embodiment, the top and bottom layer are comprised of a flexible
material such as plastic. The large receptor region display in the
top layer of the smart card may be used for the window of the
display. When the contact smart card is inserted into a device that
is capable of electrically mating with the contact smart card, data
may be electronically transferred over the single input/output of
the contact smart card discussed above. This data then is stored in
a memory (not shown) within the blocks or coupled to the blocks.
The display is the updated on the contact smart card. This is
accomplished by the chip being coupled to the display and to a
power, ground, and a single I/O lead as illustrated in FIG. 10.
FIG. 11 illustrates a planar side view of a smart card with at
least two layers that are laminated together. Electrical components
are located between the two polymeric materials. For example, in a
contactless smart card, a receiver such as an antenna is embedded
on the face of the bottom layer. The antenna may be formed by
winding an insulated copper wire on the surface of one of the
layers. The antenna may be formed of insulated metallic wire
comprising a metal core surrounded by an insulating coating.
Alternatively, the electrical element may be a conductive trace, a
jumper trace, a capacitor, a resistor, or any electrical element
that is able to send or receive signals.
A smart card chip module is embedded in the top layer and the
bottom layer of the smart card. The top layer and the bottom layer
may be comprised of either a rigid or a flexible substrate.
FIG. 12A and FIG. 12B illustrate a flow diagram for forming a
contact smart card in accordance with one embodiment of the
invention. At block 200, blocks having integrated circuits thereon
are placed onto a first substrate using a random method such as
FSA. At block 210, a single I/O, a power lead, and a ground lead
are placed onto one of a first substrate and a second substrate.
Any conventional method may be used to perform this task. At block
220, a display is placed onto one of a first or a second substrate.
It will be appreciated that a display may be placed onto the first
or second substrate before the I/O, power, or ground leads are
placed onto one of the substrates. At block 230, the blocks are
electrically connected to the single I/O and to the display by
placing, for example, an interconnect onto either the first
substrate or the second substrate. At block 240, N bits of data are
transferred on a single I/O on a smart card. At block 250, N bits
of data are displayed on the display.
FIGS. 13A-13B illustrate a flow diagram for forming a contactless
smart card in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. At
block 300, blocks having integrated circuits thereon are deposited
onto either a first substrate of a second substrate suing FSA. At
block 310, a receiver, power lead and a ground lead are placed onto
either a first substrate or a second substrate. At block 320, a
display is placed onto either a first substrate or a second
substrate. At block 330, the blocks are connected to a receiver. At
block 340, N bits of data are transferred to a receiver on the
contactless smart card. At block 350, N bits of data are
displayed.
FIGS. 14A-14B illustrate a flow diagram for forming a dual smart
card in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. At block
400, blocks are placed onto a first substrate using random
placement methods. At block 410, a receiver such as an antenna, a
power lead, and a ground lead are placed onto a first substrate. At
block 420, a display is placed onto a first or second substrate.
Dual smart cards generally use LCDs, contact smart cards may be
used with a variety of displays such as LCDs, EL displays, LEDs,
OLEDs, U/DCP displays, and EP displays. At block 430, the blocks
are connected to the receiver and to a display using conventional
means. At block 440, N bits of data are transferred to a receiver
such as an antenna on a dual smart card. At blocks 450, N bits of
data are displayed.
Listed below are related U.S. patent applications that describe
various improvements to the methods and devices of the invention
described herein. These patent applications are incorporated by
reference.
Co-pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/118,887
entitled "Apparatuses and Methods for Forming Assemblies", filed by
Jeffrey Jay Jacobsen and assigned to the same Assignee as the
present invention, describes the formation of electronic
assemblies. This co-pending application is hereby incorporated
herein by reference.
Co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/270,157 entitled
"Methods for Transferring Elements From a Template to a Substrate",
filed by Jeffrey J. Jacobsen, Mark A. Hadley, and John S. Smith and
assigned to the same Assignee of the present invention, describes
transferring elements from a template. This co-pending application
is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
Co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/270,165 entitled
"Apparatus and Methods for Forming Assemblies", filed by Jeffrey
Jay Jacobsen and assigned to the same Assignee of the present
invention, describes rolling or pressing blocks into a substrate.
This co-pending application is hereby incorporated herein by
reference.
In the preceding detailed description, the invention is described
with reference to specific embodiments thereof. It will, however,
be evident that various modifications and changes may be made
thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the
invention as set forth in the claims. The specification and
drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather
than a restrictive sense.
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